


Attention Deficit

by DrewWrites



Series: The Perfectly Flawed [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: ADHD, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Author has ADHD, Diverges after AOU, Fluff, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, I was projecting while writing this, M/M, Multi, Tony Stark has ADHD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 19:36:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15371832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrewWrites/pseuds/DrewWrites
Summary: It’s not that Tonydoesn’t wantto pay attention, it’s just that hecan’tpay attention to everything that happens in a day. Not unless he wants to be emotionally exhausted by the night.**Takes place in The Perfectly Flawed verse, but can be read as a stand-alone.





	Attention Deficit

**Author's Note:**

> So this kinda got away from me. It was supposed to short and sweet, but I ended up rewriting Tony's story? Huh. And yes I KNOW I said I would put out another chapter of AWEK, but this idea struck me and I have no inspiration for AWEK. Also, I can't find any fics about my favorite characters being ADHD and that's such a tragedy.

Tony Stark is a genius.

Not many people will argue against that point.

He graduated MIT at an age that most people start sophomore year of high school at. He started running a company at 21, he invented, he tinkered, he built things. He works a lot more than he used to, partly because he grew out of his party phase, but mostly because he was passionate about what he did. 

He was actually starting to get used to the title “Hero”.

People do tend to argue against _that_ point. Most people, when they meet Tony Stark for the first time, will be met with his mask he puts on for the press. Once they spend more time with him, they are met with a distracted and half-way listening man.

It’s not that Tony _doesn’t want_ to pay attention, it’s just that he _can’t_ pay attention to everything that happens in a day. Not unless he wants to be emotionally exhausted by the night. 

When he was a kid, Howard constantly scolded him for it. “Were you even listening, Anthony” or “Listen to an adult when they talk to you” and “Shut up about it already, I’ve heard enough.” He stopped telling Howard about his day, and started avoiding him all together because he found it difficult to pay attention to him. 

He liked Jarvis. Jarvis was patient and would repeat himself when Tony zoned out. He would respectfully listen to Tony ramble on and on about everything, even when he couldn’t follow his train of thought.

Maria was patient enough when she listened to Tony, but she was mostly distant from him.

Tony didn’t like other kids. They were loud and abrasive and easily upset. According to his teachers, he was ‘insensitive’, but he didn’t quite get it when anyone tried to tell him that something he did was rude. No one seemed to want to explain _why_ it was rude.

When Tony was a teenager, in high school and then at MIT, his grades were horrible. To him, it was impossible to pay attention in class, especially when he knew half of the stuff they were teaching, so he gave up. He threw parties and showed up for tests and exams. He somehow still passed.

Rhodey was patient with him while they were at MIT together. He learned how to read Tony, and how to tell which insults were meant and which were accidental. He always took time to explain why something was rude, something no one had ever done for Tony.

“Why do you put up with me?” He asked Rhodey during their last year of college.

“My brother has ADHD, and he acts pretty similar to the way you do when he doesn’t take his meds.” Was Rhodey’s reply.

“I don’t have ADHD.” Tony had said immediately. He tried to brush it off, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. _Huh._

Four years later, his parents were killed in a car crash, and he shut the world out.

In his twenties, he took over Stark Industries. Obadiah put up with his scattered brain well enough, but he had a difficult time with all the board meetings and paperwork and sitting at desks and _ugh._

He _loved_ creating things down in his workshop. He had always loved building and creating, but Howard hadn't listened to his ideas, and he got in trouble if he blew up the lab at MIT. His brain was constantly thinking up new ideas and new weapons and new things that could revolutionize the future and his bots and JARVIS.

Pepper put up with Tony and his quirks, albeit through gritted teeth sometimes. She was the second person in his life to suggest he had ADHD. Tony was a little more hesitant to deny it this time.

Happy was slightly annoyed at Tony’s inability to listen or hold a conversation, but he hid it pretty well.

Eventually, his brain thought up Iron Man, but not before he got captured by the Ten Rings. 

Afghanistan was hell. At least his brain was focused on one thing: _survive._ He got out alive, but Yinsen didn’t, and he had a promise to keep. He would not waste his life.

Changing Stark Industries from a weapons manufacturer was a little bit harder than Tony had expected. Then again, he didn’t expect his mentor to be the one who had him kidnapped, or for that man to attempt to murder him, or for SHIELD to contact him.

* * *

Being Iron Man helps him expend his boundless energy a little bit. When he’s fighting evil-doers, his brain zeros in on the situation and he isn’t thinking about a million things at once.

He and Pepper try dating. They are definitely not right for each other and decide being friends is better. Even if they were into each other that way, Tony just doesn’t pay her enough attention and Pepper is constantly worrying about him.

Before Tony knows it, he’s dying. It’s funny really, he thought he’d die in his twenties or at least his thirties from something stupid and alcohol related. It’s the thing that’s meant to keep him alive that’s killing him.

Natalia is Pepper’s new assistant. Surprisingly, she handles Tony’s behavior better than Pepper when she first started working for Tony.

Tony almost dies, not from the palladium, but from a crazy man with whips powered by a knock off arc reactor. _Then_ he almost dies from the palladium, but Agent Coulson gives him a bunch of his dad’s old stuff, and he creates a new element per Howard’s instructions. Dear old dad, dictating his life from the grave.

After the whole Justin Hammer mess, and the Stark Expo blowing up, Natalia ends up being Natasha. Oh, and a spy. Figures.

She’s also the third person to suggest that Tony Stark has severe ADHD. It’s in his official SHIELD file, apparently. Also in that file, is Iron Man’s recommendation for The Avengers Initiative, but not Tony Stark’s.

* * *

Tony builds Stark Tower with Pepper, and more than proud. Pepper is his best friend - next to Rhodey - and he got to build an entire tower with her. He flies into the tower to celebrate with her, only to be interrupted by Agent Coulson.

They need him for The Avengers. They’re desperate because some guy named Loki stole their magic cube. 

When he meets the rest of the Avengers, he immediately likes Bruce Banner. Whether he listens to Tony ramble because he’s being polite, or is genuinely interested, Tony doesn’t care. He doesn’t snap at Tony for talking nonsense, so he doesn’t stop.

He already knows Natasha, but something is different about her. Coulson says it’s because her best friend has been brainwashed by the bad guy. 

Thor is, well, interesting, to say the least. He talks as if he’s shakespeare and looks god-like. It’s because he _is_ a god, apparently. He’s loud and energetic and it’s a bit overwhelming to Tony.

Steve Rogers - as in Captain _fucking_ America - is a self-righteous, uptight, annoying, _beautiful_ man. Tony isn’t a huge fan at first. Mostly because he had been trying to live up to Captain America all his life, but also because they seemed to disagree at every turn.

Steve seemed to already have a bad impression of him, and it didn’t help that Tony kept zoning out or seemingly didn’t listen to Steve. The scepter, it turns out, was also messing with everyone’s heads.

After the battle is won, and Tony almost dies, Steve seems to respect him. It’s a step in the right direction. 

Avengers Tower replaced Stark Tower soon after the battle.

* * *

Steve, Tony finds, is actually an interesting person and a great friend to have. They try to find time to get to know each other, as do the rest of the team.

Steve and Tony warm up to each other and soon Steve is not only patient with Tony, he actively listens to broken conversations and reminds Tony where he was when he zones out. He explains simple stuff to Tony when he doesn’t understand them, and he gets used to Tony interrupting him when he’s excited.

Soon enough, the team is busy. Bruce is doing studies with multiple universities, Thor is off world, Clint is working at SHIELD, and Natasha and Steve are doing missions for SHIELD. Tony can often be found building more and more suits and occasionally helping Pepper with Stark Industries stuff. 

Then, Aldrich Killian happens. The Mandarin sets off multiple bombs, and Pepper almost dies. At least him and Rhodey get to spend some time together. It’s not exactly quality, but it’s time.

Steve is the first person outside of those involved that hears about the fiasco. He and Tony stay up late at Avengers Tower sitting on bar stools just catching up with each other. 

That’s the night that Tony realizes that he’s in love with Steven Grant Rogers.

It hits him all at once, when Steve makes a cheesy joke about a story Tony is telling. Tony laughs, despite the cheesiness, and Steve gives him such a huge grin that Tony almost melts.

* * *

But of course, peace doesn’t last long for Tony, because like his brain, his life never gives him a goddamn break.

This time it’s in the form of one James Buchanan Barnes. To the public, he’s Steve’s childhood friend, but Tony knew that they were more. Steve had told him many stories about his life in the 40s, including ones about Bucky, who he was in love with.

Bucky is the Winter Soldier now, and Steve disappears for a while, searching for his long lost lover. Disappearing includes cutting contact with Tony. It hurts, and Tony overthinks it for awhile, but ultimately he gets it.

Tony and the rest of The Avengers - minus Natasha - only get updates from the news and from within SHIELD.

* * *

Tony fucks up. It’s not a new concept, or a new feeling, but this time it’s _bad._ His stupid fucking robot that was supposed to save the world has decided that the best way to do that is destroy all humans.

Of-fucking-course.

At least Steve is home for the time being. Tony would rather him still be away then see the look of utter disappointment on his face. That look belonged on Howard, not Steve.

When Wanda gets in their heads, Tony sees everyone he cares about dead at his feet, and hears every insult, every bad thought, all at once.

Steve, he will tell Tony later, sees Bucky.

A lot of damage is done, but The Avengers manage to pull through. There were a lot of close calls for Steve and Tony, but they made it.

At the end of the fight, Steve is okay, and less disappointed in him, so Tony counts it as a win.

* * *

Steve and Tony don’t get to see each other a lot after the Ultron incident, but they call each other often. Steve is getting closer to finding Bucky everyday, and Tony is pretending not to care by inventing away at the compound.

When Steve does eventually find Bucky, and get him to agree to coming with him and Sam, they end up at the compound’s door at three am. Tony is the only one awake, so FRIDAY lets him know that Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and an unknown man are in the common area.

Tony resists the urge to straight up throw himself at Steve, but Steve hugs him anyway. He sends a nod toward Sam and looks at The Winter Soldier. He looks exhausted, and he’s scanning his surroundings in a way that Tony had seen Natasha and Clint do on multiple occasions.

“What do you need me to do?” Tony says, because he would do anything for Steve, even if it meant giving him his Bucky back.

“I don’t know.” Is Steve’s response. Tony’s heart breaks a little bit because he’s never seen Steve look so _helpless._

There’s more Bucky present in his head than Steve originally thought, Tony finds out over the course of the next week. He does test after test, brain exercises, memory games, and he even has Bucky use BARF, under his and Steve’s supervision.

Tony likes Bucky. He’s mostly silent unless it’s necessary to talk, and while tends to have the same expression most of the time, he seems to be listening to Tony while he rambles and thinks out loud. Tony figures it grounds Bucky, but he doesn’t ask.

Even after Bucky is mostly put back together, and his arm is upgraded, he finds his way into Tony’s workshop. He simply settles into the couch and watches Tony work. 

Now that he’s Steve’s Bucky again, he talks more. He asks questions, adds comments, and after a while he starts _flirting._ At least, that’s what Tony would call it. 

Eventually Steve joins the two in the workshop, for as long as he’s awake, at least. He usually has a sketchbook with him, and he sketches away as Tony and Bucky talk about mechanical engineering. 

Steve tried to listen in once, but he was completely lost, so he focuses on sketching the way Tony smiles when he makes a breakthrough, or the way Bucky looks at Tony when the mechanic is thinking _really hard_ about something.

Steve realized that he still loved Bucky on one of those nights. He had loved Tony since shortly after New York, but he had thought the feelings for Bucky had dissipated over time.

He was screwed.

* * *

Tony slowly but surely fell in love with James Buchanan Barnes. With Steve, he fell hard and fast, but things with Bucky are all slow and sweet. Tony thought he would be jealous of the way Steve looks at Bucky, and a tiny part of him is, but another part of him is delighted that they love each other.

Tony tries to push away his feelings for them. He’s forty-something years old, and they are both super soldiers still basically in their prime. They’ve loved each other for 90 or so years, and he’s know Steve for around five years and Bucky for less. 

Besides, he can barely hold a solid conversation most days, and he rambles way too often. How could they ever love him?

* * *

Bucky loves Steve. The more he realizes this, the more the memories come back. He remembers candle lit dinners and long nights talking. Loving Steve feels like home.

Bucky also loves Tony. That one is a little unexpected. Logically, they shouldn’t fit together, but they do. They match each other in sarcasm and Bucky listens while Tony talks. 

Bucky can also see that Steve and Tony love each other, and he couldn’t be happier.

* * *

It all comes to a boiling point when Tony hits a block in one of his projects. Bucky gives a small suggestion that gives Tony the push he needs.

“I could kiss you!” Tony shouts. Tony immediately curses himself and his stupid impulse control. They all freeze, Steve’s pencil dropping to the floor dramatically. Bucky recovers first.

“Is that a promise?” Bucky snarks back.

“And if it is?” Tony says, because he doesn’t know when to stop.

“I would feel rather left out.” Steve adds.

Something snaps in Tony, and he throws caution to the wind. He stands from his chair, marches over to Bucky, and kisses him with a ferocity Steve has never seen in him.

Before things get too heated, Tony pulls back and turns to Steve, giving him the same kiss. Bucky and Steve stare at each other for a long moment, before kissing each other, as well.

“We have a lot to talk about.” Steve says, always the responsible one.

“Later.” Tony states.

* * *

They really shouldn’t fit together, but somehow they make it work.

Steve has days where all he can feel is cold, no matter how many blankets or layers he’s wearing. Tony and Bucky are glued to his side on those days, and Steve loves them even more for it.

Bucky has days where The Winter Soldier creeps around the edges of his mind and threatens to take over again. He sits with his head in Steve’s lap and listens to Tony ramble about his latest invention on those days. He finally feels safe.

Tony has days where his mind jumps between Howard and Obadiah and the wormhole and a thousand other things. Intrusive thoughts wind their way through every corner of his brain, and he can’t focus on anything but he needs to be doing something. On those days, Steve and Bucky let him ramble about nothing while curling between them. Sometimes he cries, but they don’t say anything about it.

The last people to suggest that Tony has ADHD are Steve and Bucky. 

Tony had been rambling about he had never felt normal or like he was like anyone else. Bucky brought it up first, suggesting it like he was talking about the weather. Steve suggested getting evaluated, but only if he wanted to. Tony does, but only out of curiosity, he tells himself. 

Tony starts taking meds a week after, and suddenly life is a little easier. He can focus on things easier, he can hold conversations without exhausting himself, and his rambling makes a bit more sense.

Tony Stark feels normal.

Tony Stark belongs.

**Author's Note:**

> Oof. I didn't ready over this AT ALL so I trust that my beta reader caught everything. Let me know what you thought and leave kudos if you enjoyed! :)
> 
> Beta reader: religious-pizza-roll  
> My tumblr: andrew-writes-things


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